A MINING EXPEDITION.
In a few minutes Hugh and Royce remounted and joined the two two
Mexican gentlemen, and set out, with the party of vaqueros riding
behind them.
"You came in with quite a strong force, Don Ramon," Hugh said smiling.
"It might have been necessary," the Mexican replied. "I could not tell
with whom I had to deal. Our guard do not care very much about risking
their skins, especially when it is a question of Texan cow-boys, who
have, if you will excuse my saying so, a terrible reputation, and can
use their pistols with a skill that is extraordinary. I could not guess
that I had to do with gentlemen."
"There is nothing that way about me, señor!" Royce said abruptly. "I am
a cow-boy, or a teamster, or a miner, or anything that comes to hand,
but nary a claim to be a gentleman."
"My friend is a good fellow, señor, in every way," Hugh said, "and is
my staunch and true friend. I myself am an Englishman who has come out
to enjoy the hunting and the rough life of the plains of the West for
a few years before settling down at home."
"And now, señor," the Mexican said with a bow, "will you let me begin
to question you, for I am full of anxiety as to my unfortunate son? I
feared before that he was lost to us; I fear now even more than before,
for I am sure that he would never have parted with his horse, which he
had reared from a colt and was much attached to. These men from whom
you bought it, were they known in that locality?"
"No," Hugh replied. "Wherever they came from they did not belong to
that corner of Texas, for neither the judge nor the sheriff had ever
seen them before. Had they known that they were bad characters they
would have arrested them and held them until an owner was found for
the horse; but as they knew nothing against them they did not feel
justified in doing so."
"Will you describe them to me?" the Mexican said.
"They were men of between thirty and forty. From their attire they
might have been hunters. They were dressed a good deal like your
vaqueros: they wore chaperajos with red sashes around their waist, and
flannel shirts. They had jackets with silver buttons, which you don't
see much among our cow-boys on the plains, and broad, soft, felt hats.
I should say that one was a half-breed--that is to say, half Mexican,
half American. Both had black moustaches, and what I should call
hang-dog faces."
"I have no doubt, from your description," Don Ramon said, "they were
two men who joined the caravan a day or two before my son left it.
These men said they were hunters, and I was told that my son engaged
them to accompany him while he was hunting, to act as guides, and show
him the best places for game. They were described to me by some of the
party that returned here, and I feared at the time that if evil had
befallen him it was through them. Now that you tell me they sold you
his horse, I feel but too certain this was so."
"They seemed to have ridden fast and far. Their own horses and the
bay were in fair condition, señor, but the pack-horse was very poor.
The men were evidently in great haste to get away, and I should judge
from this that if, as you fear, they murdered your son and his three
servants, they probably did it at the last camping place before they
arrived at M'Kinney. Had they done it when far out on the plains there
would have been no good reason why they should have been in so much
haste; but if it had been but a short distance away they might have
feared that someone might find the bodies and organize a pursuit at
once."
"Why should they have delayed so long if their intention was murder?"
the younger Mexican asked.
"That I cannot say, Don Carlos. They may have fallen in with other
hunters after leaving the caravan, and these may have kept with them
all the time they were out on the plains, and they may have had no
opportunity of carrying out their designs till the party separated;
or again, your brother's attendants might have been suspicious of
them, and may have kept up too vigilant a watch for them to venture
on an attack before. But this watch may have been relaxed when the
journey was just at an end, and it seemed to them that their fears were
unfounded."
"That is the most likely explanation," Don Ramon said. "They were three
picked men; two of them were hunters, the other my son's body-servant.
It is likely enough that the hunters would have kept alternate watch at
night had they suspected these fellows. Those two were to have remained
in charge of the horses at the town where my son took rail, and to
await his return there; the other man was to accompany him to New York.
My son had an ample supply of gold for his expenses, and I fear it was
that rather than the horse that attracted the scoundrels."
They were by this time approaching a large and handsome building,
standing in extensive grounds. As they halted before it a number of
_peóns_ ran out and took the horses. Prince had quickened his pace as
he neared the house, and had given a joyful neigh as of recognition.
When Hugh alighted, the horse, as usual, laid his muzzle on his
shoulder to receive a caress before turning away, and then, without
waiting for one of the _peóns_ to take his rein, walked away towards
the stables.
"I see he is fond of you, señor. You have been a kind master to him."
"I love horses," Hugh said, "and Prince, as I have called him, has
been my companion night and day for eighteen months. We have hunted
together, and roped-in cattle, and fought Indians, and divided out last
crust together."
Don Ramon led the way into the house, and then into a room where an
elderly lady and two young ones were sitting. They rose as he entered.
"What news, Ramon?" the elderly lady asked.
"Such news as there is is bad, Maria. These caballeros, Don Hugh
Tunstall and--" (he hesitated and looked at Royce, with whose name he
was not acquainted). "Bill Royce, without any Don!" the cow-boy put
in. The Mexican repeated the name--"have been good enough to ride over
here with me, in order that you, as well as I, might question them as
to what they know of our son. Unhappily they know little. We were not
misinformed. Don Hugh has indeed our son's horse, but he bought it, as
he has proved to me, from two strangers, who tally exactly with the
description we have received of the two hunters who left the caravan
with our son. I feared all along that these men were at the bottom of
whatever might have befallen Estafan. I fear now that there is no doubt
whatever about it. Caballeros, this is my wife, Donna Maria Perales.
These are my two daughters, Dolores and Nina."
For an hour Hugh and his companion remained answering the questions of
Donna Perales; then Hugh rose, feeling that the ladies would be glad to
be alone in their grief, for the confirmation of their fears respecting
Don Estafan had brought their loss back to them freshly. Don Ramon and
his son accompanied them to the door.
"I pray you," the former said, "that if at any time you come upon the
villains you give them in custody. I and my son will make the journey
to appear against them, however far it may be."
"You need not trouble on that score," Royce said. "If we meet them, I
warrant you we can manage their business without any bother of judge
or jury. They will have a cow-boy trial, and after the evidence Hugh
and I can give, you may be sure that a rope will very soon settle their
affair."
"I must ask you, Don Ramon," Hugh said, "to lend me a horse back to the
town, and to send a vaquero with me to bring it back."
"But why, sir?" the Mexican asked in surprise. "You have your own
horse."
"No, señor, Prince is not mine. He was your son's, and is yours. A man
who buys stolen property is liable to lose it if he meets the proper
owner, and when I bought Prince for half his value I knew that I was
running that risk."
"No, señor Englishman. I do not say that a man who has lost his horse
has not the right to reclaim it wherever he may find it. That is, if
he happens to be in a place where the law is respected, or if not if
he happens to be with the strongest party; but in the present case I
could not think of depriving you of the horse. It is evident that he
has found a good master, and that you stand in his affections just as
my son did; besides, if you will pardon my saying so, the horse is more
to you than it is to me. There are many thousands of horses running
wild on my estates, and although my son used to assert that there was
not one which was equal to his horse, there are numbers that are but
little inferior, for our horses are famous. They are mustangs crossed
with pure Arab blood, which my grandfather had selected and sent over
to him, regardless of cost. Pray, therefore, keep the bay. May it
carry you long and safely! It will be a real pleasure to my wife and
myself to know that poor Estafan's favourite horse is in such good
hands. I have also," he said courteously to Royce, "taken the liberty
of ordering my _peóns_ to change the saddle of the horse you rode to
one more worthy of being a companion to the bay. It is of no use for
one man to be well mounted if his comrade does not bestride a steed of
similar swiftness."
Hugh and Royce warmly thanked Don Ramon for his kindness. The horses
were brought round, and that of Royce fully bore out the commendation
of the Mexican.
"We hope to see you again to-morrow," Don Ramon said as they mounted.
"You will always be welcome guests here."
"And you will not forget," Don Carlos said in a low tone, "if you ever
meet those men."
"That has been a fortunate adventure," Royce said as they rode off. "I
have often wondered whether we should ever fall upon the original owner
of your horse, and pictured to myself that we might have a bad time of
it if we did. It isn't everyone who would have accepted that receipt of
yours as proof."
"No; I always felt that myself, Royce. Well, that sorrel of yours is
a splendid animal, and really worthy to go with Prince. I often wished
you had a mount as good as mine, for my sake as well as your own, for
there is no doubt of the truth of what he said. When two friends are
riding together their pace is only that of the slowest horse."
"That is so," Royce agreed. "So there is some Arab blood in them. I
have often talked over the bay in the camps. We all agreed we had never
seen so good a mustang. There are good mustangs, but they are never a
match for a really first-rate States horse, and yet we could not see
any signs of such a cross in Prince. He wur mustang, but there seemed
more whip-cord and wire about him than a mustang has. I have heard say
that the mustangs are the descendants of Spanish barbs, and that the
barbs were Moorish horses."
"Yes, that is so, Royce. The barb is related to the Arab, but is not, I
believe, of such pure blood; it is a coarser animal; and if Don Ramon's
grandfather brought over some pure Arabs of first-rate strain they
would, no doubt, greatly improve the mustangs."
"Waal, Hugh, if we ever do meet those two murdering villains, I reckon
their chances of getting away from us ain't worth mentioning."
The reception on their return to the hotel was very different to that
they had before experienced. They had been visitors at Don Ramon's
hacienda, and Don Ramon was the richest proprietor in the district of
El Paso. After they had finished supper that evening, and were enjoying
coffee and cigars at a table placed with others in a garden behind the
hotel, the two miners who had stood by them in the morning came up and
took seats beside them. "You had a pretty rough welcome this morning
at El Paso," the big man said. "But, by the way, I do not know what
to call you. My own name is Sim. I am generally known as Surly Sim. My
friend's name is Frank; I generally call him the doctor."
"My name is Bill," Royce said; "and out on the plain the boys call me
Stumpy, which don't need any explanation. My mate's name is Hugh, and
he has got the name of Lightning."
"Ah! and why is that, may I ask?" the white-haired little man said.
"Well, it is because of one of his accomplishments, doctor. He has got
the knack of drawing a pistol that sharp, that almost before you see
his hand move you are looking down the tube of a pistol."
"A very useful accomplishment," the little man remarked, "always
supposing that it is not used too often, and that it is only used in
self-defence. I am a peaceful man myself," he went on, "and have a
horror of the use of fire-arms."
His companion laughed.
"Now you know that that is so, Sim," the little man said earnestly.
"Waal, doctor, I don't go for to say that you are quarrelsome, and ef
anyone said so in my hearing I should tell him he wur a liar. But for a
peaceable man, doctor, and I don't deny as you are peaceable, I don't
know as thar is a man in the mining regions who has used his weapon
oftener than you have."
"But always on the side of peace, Sim," the little man said earnestly.
"Please to remember always on the side of peace."
"Yes, in the same way that a New York policeman uses his club, doctor."
"Well, I can assure you I don't often use what you call my
accomplishment," Hugh said. "I practise it so that I may be able to
defend my life if I am attacked, but except in a fight with a band of
Comanches, I have only once had occasion to draw my pistol."
"And he weakened?" Sim asked.
"Yes, I had the drop of him. There was nothing else for him to do."
"And what are you doing at El Paso?"
"You are too abrupt, Sim, much too abrupt," the little man said
deprecatingly.
"Not at all, doctor. If it is anything they don't want to tell they
won't tell it. If it isn't, we may be useful to them."
"We have no particular object in view," Hugh said. "I am an Englishman;
but not a rich Englishman, who comes out to buy ranches, or to
speculate in mines. But I have come rather to pass three or four years
in seeing life on the Western plains than to make money. I worked for
six months in M'Kinney, had three or four months' hunting, and then
worked six months as a cow-boy; and I thought that, for a change, I
should like to come this way and see something of mining adventure in
New Mexico or Arizona. My mate here has been with me for nearly two
years, and has thrown in his fortune with mine."
"There is adventure enough, and more than enough, in mining down thar
in Arizona. The doctor and I have been at it for some years. We haven't
made a penny, but we have saved our scalps, so we may be considered
lucky."
"I was told," Hugh went on, "that El Paso was the most central place
to come to. My idea was that I might find some party setting out on a
prospecting expedition, and that I might be able to join it."
"It ain't a good time for prospecting expeditions," Sim said. "Even
on the Upper Gila the mining camps is all on guard, knowing that any
day the Apaches may be down on them, and it would want a man to be
wonderful fond of gold for him to go out prospecting down in Arizona."
"I don't care much for gold," Hugh laughed, "though I don't say I
should object to take my share if we hit on a rich lode. I should go
for the sake of the excitement, and to see the life."
"Well, at other times you might find any number of people here in El
Paso who would be glad enough to take you out on such an expedition,"
the doctor said. "You ask the first man you meet, Mexican or white, and
he will tell you that he knows of a mine, and will take you to it if
you will fit out an expedition."
"You are exceptions to the rule, doctor."
"No, I don't say that," the doctor replied, though his companion gave
a growling protest.
"Oh, yes, we know of a mine!" he went on, not heeding the growl. "At
least we believe we do, which is, I suppose, as much as anybody can
say; but we are like the rest, we say that it is better to stay at El
Paso and keep our scalps on, even if we are poor, than to go and throw
away our lives in looking for a mine. We have been out working for the
last six months on a mine in the Gila Valley on shares with six others.
We weren't doing so badly; but the Mexicans who were working for us got
scared and wouldn't stay, so we have given it up and come down here.
Some day or other when things settle down again, I suppose the mine
will be worked, but it won't be by us. We are looking out for someone
who will buy our shares, but I don't suppose anyone will give five
dollars for them, and they would be right. The thing paid in our hands,
but it wouldn't pay in Mexicans'. They are poor shiftless creatures,
and have no idea of hard work. We should have given it up anyhow, even
without these Indian troubles, which don't make much difference, for
the Apaches are always ready to come down when they see a chance. It is
always war between them and the whites. But we were there six months,
and six months are about the outside Sim and I ever stop anywhere."
"When you go prospecting, do you often get any hints from the Indians
as to where gold is to be found?"
"Never," Sim Howlett said. "The Injuns are too lazy to work
theirselves, and they know that when the whites get hold of gold they
pour down in numbers. I believe they do know often where there are
lodes. I don't see how they can be off knowing it, for a Red-skin is
always keeping his eyes on the move. Nothing escapes him, and it would
be strange if, wandering about as they do, and knowing every foot
of their country, they didn't notice gold when it is there to see.
Besides, they have got tales handed down from father to son. In old
times they had gold ornaments and such like, but you never see them
now. They know well enough that such things would draw the whites.
Sometimes a Red-skin will tell a white who has done him some great
service where there is a lode, gold or silver or copper, but it don't
happen often. Besides, most times the place lies right in the heart of
their country, and for all the good it is, it might as well be in the
middle of the sea. Of course, if it was gold, and the metal was found
in nuggets, and a horse-load or two could be got in a month, it might
be done; but not when it comes to settling there and sinking shafts and
mining; that can't be done until the Apaches are wiped out."
"But are there such places as that, Sim?"
"Waal, there may be, but I have never seen them. The doctor and me have
struck it rich many a time, but not as rich as that. Still, I reckon
there are places where the first comer might gather a big pile if the
Red-skins would but let him alone for a month."
"I suppose you are absent some time on one of these expeditions? Do
prospectors generally go on foot or horseback?"
"They in general takes a critter a piece, and two others to carry grub
and a pick and shovel; sometimes they go two together, but more often
one goes by hisself. In course where two men knows each other and can
trust each other, two is kind of handier than one. We shouldn't like
to work alone, should we, doc? But then, you see, we have been twelve
years together. Sometimes a man finds his own outfit. Sometimes he
goes to a trader in a town; and if he is known to be a good miner and
a straight man, the storekeeper will give him a sack of flour and a
side of bacon, and such other things as are required, and then they go
partners in what is found. Sometimes this goes on for months, sometimes
for years; sometimes the trader loses his money, sometimes he makes a
fortune. You see there are plenty of places as ain't in what you may
call the Indian country, but somehow or other it do seem as if the
Red-skins had just been put down where the best places is, so as to
prevent the gold being dug. In Arizona some big finds have been made,
but nobody's any the richer for them. The Red-skins is always on the
look-out. Often an exploring party never comes back. Sometimes one
or two come back with the news that the others have all been wiped
out; but what with the awful country and the want of water, and the
sartainty of having to fight, and of sooner or later being surprised
and scalped, there ain't many men as cares about following the thing
up."
"I suppose you know of such places, Sim?"
"Waal, maybe we do," the miner said cautiously. "Maybe we do; eh,
doctor?"
The little man did not reply, but sat looking searchingly at Hugh. When
he did speak it was not in direct answer to the question.
"I like your face, young fellow," he said. "It reminds me of one I have
seen somewhere, though I can't say where. You look to me as if you were
downright honest."
"I hope I am," Hugh said with a laugh.
"You may bet your boots on that," Bill Royce said. "He is as straight
a man as you will find in Texas."
"And you are out here," the other went on, "part for pleasure, part
just to see life, and part, I suppose, to make money if you see a
chance?"
"I have never thought much of making money," Hugh replied, "although I
should certainly have no objection if I saw a chance; but I have never
thought of doing more than keeping myself."
"And he has been with you, you say, nigh two years?" and he nodded at
Royce. "And you can speak for him as he does for you?"
"That I can," Hugh said warmly. "We have worked together and hunted
together, we have been mates in the same outfit, and we have fought the
Comanches together, and I can answer for him as for myself. He gave up
his work and went with me, not because there was any chance of making
more money that way than any other, but because we liked each other."
"Well, Sim," the little man said, "it seems to me that these two would
make good mates for that job of ours."
"Waal, doctor, you know I leave these things to you. I kinder feels
that way myself towards them, and anyhow I don't see as there can't be
no harm in setting it afore them, seeing as there ain't no need to give
them the indications. But I reckon there is too many about here to talk
on a matter like that. Waal, it comes to this," he went on, turning to
Hugh, "if you air disposed to make a jint expedition with us, and ain't
afeard neither of roughing it nor of Red-skins, you meet us to-morrow
three miles outside the town on the South Road, and we will talk to you
straight."
"That is just what would suit me," Hugh said; "and you, Royce?"
"It is all the same to me, Lightning. If you are for an expedition you
know you can count me in."
"Good night, then," Sim Howlett said, rising. "We have sat here quite
long enough talking together if we mean to do anything. I reckon there
is a score of these Mexikins have been saying to themselves afore
now, What can those two miners and them cow-boys be a-talking together
about? and when a Mexikin begins to wonder, he begins to try and find
out; so we are off. Three miles out on the South Road at nine o'clock
to-morrow morning. About half a mile past a village you will see a
stone cross by the road. There is a path turns off by it, you follow
that, and you will come across us afore you have gone two hundred
yards."
"What do you think of it, Royce?" Hugh asked when they were alone.
"Don't think nothing of it one way or the other. Most of them miners
have got some tale or other. However they seem to me straight men."
"I feel sure they are," Hugh said. "The big one looks an honest fellow.
I don't so much understand the little one, but evidently he is the head
of the party. He is a curious little fellow with his white hair and
gentle voice. He doesn't look strong enough for such a life as they
lead, but I suppose he is able to do his share or they would never
have been working twelve years together. At any rate I came here to see
something of life among the mines, and this seems as good a chance as
we are likely to have."
The next morning they breakfasted at seven, and at half-past eight
saddled their horses and rode out. They found their two companions
of the previous night at the appointed place. As the miners saw them
approaching they turned off the path and preceded them to a Mexican
hut, and there waited for them to come up.
"Good morning!" the doctor said as they dismounted; "there is no fear
of our being overheard here. The Mexican who lives here has often been
up with us among the hills, and started for the town a quarter of an
hour ago, when we told him we had a rendezvous here. Now, if you will
hitch your horses up and sit down on these maize stalks we can talk
comfortably. A year ago, when Sim and I were working in a gulch among
the mountains, we heard a call in the distance. We went to see what it
was, and found a man who had dropped down, just worn out and famished,
after he had given the cry that fetched us. He had been shot in four or
five places, and we saw at once that his journey was nearly over.
"We carried him to our fire and brought him round, and did all we could
for him for three weeks; then he died. He told us he had been one of a
party of six who had been prospecting in the hills west of the Lower
Gila. One of them had learned, from an Indian he had helped in some
way, of a place where the bed of a stream was full of gold. They found
it; but the next morning they were attacked by the Apaches, who had,
I expect, been following them all the time. Two of them were killed at
once, the others got upon their horses and rode for it. Three of them
were shot down, but this man was well mounted and got off, though they
chased him for three days. He lost his way; his horse fell dead, but he
struggled on until he saw the smoke of our fire and made us out to be
whites.
"Before he died he told us how the place could be found. He said there
was no doubt about the gold, and he had three or four nuggets in his
pockets, weighing two or three pounds each. He said he had had lots
of bigger ones, but had chucked them all away to lighten his horse.
Well, it is a long journey. It will take us all a month, I reckon,
to get there. We cannot go straight--the Apaches would have us to a
certainty--but must go north into the Moquis country, and then down
again from that side. We have been minded to try it ever since, but
luck has been bad with us, and, besides, two men wouldn't be enough for
such a journey.
"It ain't every one Sim and I would care about going with, but we have
both taken a fancy to you. We saw you stand up straight before that
crowd of Mexicans; besides, we know it wants good grit for that cow-boy
life. Now this is the offer we make. We have got two horses, and we
can buy two pack-horses, but we can't go further than that. You have
got two out-and-out horses; we saw you ride in yesterday afternoon. You
will want another pack-horse, and you will have to provide the outfit:
say two bags of flour, two sides of bacon, ten pounds of tea, and a
couple of gallons of spirits; then there will be sugar and some other
things.
"We shall also want a small tent. Now if you like to join us on these
terms you can. There is plenty of gold for us all. But mind you, it
will be no child's play. The journey from the Moquis country there will
be terrible; and there is the chance, and a pretty big chance it is, I
tell you, of a fight with the Red-skins. We may never find the place.
We have got pretty good indications, but it is not an easy matter to
find a place among those mountains. Still, there it is. If you get
there and back you will each have a horse-load of gold; if you don't
you will leave your bones there. What do you say to it?"
Hugh looked at Royce. "I reckon we kin take our chances if you kin,"
the latter said. "At any rate, mates, you will find as we can take our
share in whatever comes."
"Then that is agreed," the doctor said. "Now about preparations. It
will never do for you to be buying the things here; for if we were
seen to start off together we should be followed, sure enough; it
would be guessed at once we had told you of something good. We must
not be seen together again. We will get our pack-horses and load up,
and go as if we were undertaking a job on our own account, and camp up
somewhere twenty miles away, and stop there a week. After we have gone
you can get your outfit and move off and join us. Sim and I have been
talking over whether it will be a good thing to take José--that is the
man here--with us, instead of buying baggage horses. He has got four
beasts. He could ride one himself, and the other three, with the one
you have, would make up the number. José can be trusted; besides, we
should not tell him where we were going, but we should have to say it
would be a long journey and a dangerous one. He is a widower, with one
child, and these horses are his only possession, and I think he would
want their value put down before he started, say seventy-five dollars
a-piece for them and their saddles, that is three hundred dollars.
You wouldn't buy them for less. So as far as money goes it would come
to the same thing. You will get it back again if José and the animals
come back; but if we all do come back, three hundred dollars would be
nothing one way or the other. Then comes the point, would it be worth
while to take him? There would be one more mouth to feed, but that does
not go for much; there would be one more rifle in case we had to fight,
and José has plenty of courage. I have seen him in a fix before now. He
would look after the beasts and leave our hands free; and his pay would
cost us nothing, for if we got there he would help us gather and wash
the gold."
"What is the drawback then?" Hugh asked.
"The drawback is, that if we have to ride for it he might hinder us."
"There ain't much in that, doc.," Sim Howlett put in. "Our horses are
pretty good though they ain't much to look at, but the horses our mates
here have got would leave them standing, and I don't know that José's
best is much slower than ours; besides, when you are working among
those mountains speed goes for nothing. A horse accustomed to them
would pick his way among the rocks faster'n a race-horse. Ef we are
attacked there running won't be much good to us. Ef we get fairly out
from the hills with the gold and the 'Paches are on our trail, why, we
then must trust to cunning, and our mates here can ride clear away."
"We sha'n't do that, Sim," Hugh said. "If we throw in our lot with you
we shall share it to the end, whatever it is."
"Waal, that is all right, lad; but there are times when stopping to
fight is just throwing away your life without doing no good. The doctor
here and me ain't men to desart mates; but when a time comes where it
ain't no sort of good in the world to fight, and when those mates must
get rubbed out whether you stick by them or not, then it is downright
onreasonable for anyone as can get clear off to throw away his life
foolish."
"Well, anyhow, Sim," Hugh said, "it seems to me that it will be best to
take José and his horses with us. It will, as you say, leave our hands
free, and it will make the journey much more pleasant, and will add one
to our strength. Well, that would cost, you say, three hundred dollars;
how much will the rest of the outfit cost?"
"Three hundred at the outside," the doctor said. "We have been
reckoning it up. Of course we have all got kits, and it's only grub
and ammunition we have got to buy, and two or three more shovels, and
some pans for washing the sand, and another pick or two, and a couple
of crowbars. Three hundred dollars will get as much grub as the four
pack-horses will carry, and make a good proper outfit for us. Will your
money run to that?"
"Hardly," Hugh said, "that's just about what we have got between us.
We had each six months' pay to draw when we left the ranche, and I
had some before. I think we are about twenty dollars short of the six
hundred."
"That is plenty," the doctor said. "If you put in four hundred, Sim
and I can chip in another two hundred, as we sha'n't have to buy
pack-horses; so we have plenty between us. We shall see José to-night
and talk it over with him, and if he agrees he will come to you and
bring a document for you to sign, saying that if he does not return in
six months, the three hundred dollars are to be paid over for the use
of his child; then he will go with you to a priest and put the paper
and the money in his hands; then you can hand him over your pack-horse,
he will take charge of it; then, if you will give us a hundred dollars,
we engage to get the outfit all provided. When it is all done we will
let you know what day you are to meet us, and where. You see we are
asking you to trust us right through."
"That is all right," Hugh said. "We are trusting you with our lives,
and the dollars don't go for much in comparison."
"That is so," Sim Howlett said. "Waal, there is nothing more to say
now. You had best ride back to the town and give yourself no more
trouble about it. You will hear from us in a few days, or it maybe a
week. We shall buy half the things and send them on by José, and then
get the others and follow ourselves. It would set them talking here
if we was to start with four loads. There is some pretty bad men about
this place, you bet."
"Well, we sha'n't have much for them to plunder us of," Hugh said.
"Four laden horses wouldn't be a bad haul, but it ain't that I am
afraid of. If there wur a suspicion as we was going out to work a rich
thing, there is plenty of men here would get up a party to track us,
and fall on us either there or on our way back. There are two or three
bands of brigands upon the mountains, and they are getting worse. There
have been several haciendas burned and their people killed not many
miles from El Paso. Parties have been got up several times to hunt them
down, but they never find them; and there is people here as believe
that the officers of the _guárda_ are in their pay. They have come
across us more than once when we have been prospecting. But they don't
interfere with men like us, because, firstly, we haven't got anything
worth taking, anyway nothing worth risking half a dozen lives to get;
and in the next place, ef it got known they had touched any of our
lot, the miners would all join and hunt them down, and they know right
enough that would be a different thing altogether to having to deal
with the Mexikins."
Five minutes later Hugh and Royce were on their way back to El Paso.
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